Summer Play Days with Disney!

Disney in-store Events

Visit your local Disnery Store everyday for Summer Play Days between July 23 and August 26th (@2:00 pm). 

Kids can also win a special gift by attending 4 events!  Check out your local stores for exact details.

Visit or call our local Disney Store for specific event times and details!

*Minimum age for participation is 3 years.

Hot Air Balloon Festival

Warren County Farmers’ Fair hosts a Hot Air Balloon Festival in the scenic Warren County, NJ. You can enjoy a tethered ballon ride for $10 per person or an actual ballon ride for $195 per person.

The Fair also includes attractions like the traditional arts expo and Kids’ Corral, demolition derbies, an ATV and Truck Mud Bog, along with Truck and Tractor Pulls.

The fair open between Saturday, July 28 and the Fair will run through Saturday, August 4, 2012.

Admission is $6 for adults and $4 for children ages 5-12; ages 4 and under are free. Parking is also free of charge.

Readin' & Rockin' at BRU

Babies "R" Us Special Event

Join the Babies "R" Us crew at your local store for a children's story and sing-along song time. 

Parental supervision of kids required!  You will also recieve a valuable special coupon by attending this event!

Date: July 7th

Time: 12 - 3 pm

Spray Grounds

Cool of yourself at these two spray grounds located around central NJ...

Dorbrook Recreation Area

Sprayground at Dorbrook Recreation Area

Beat the summer heat by splashing around at the free splash pad/spray ground at the Dorbrook Recreation Area in Colts Neck, NJ.

This water-enhanced playground is a great place stay cool and play with water for kids (and adults) of all ages.

This facility is open 7 days a week beginning May 19 and closes September 9. The Sprayground opens 10am on weekend and holidays and 11am weekdays. From May to July, the Sprayground closes at 7:30pm and from August to September at 7pm.


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Ponderosa Park

Ponderosa Park Spray Fountain

This beautiful 20 acre facility at Ponderosa Park in Scotch Plains is now open for kids and your entire family to hang out.  You can find walking trails, multipurpose soccer/lacrosse field, a variety of playground equipment and swings, and an awesome spray fountain in the center of the play area to cool yourself down!

Ice Cream Festival

Check out the 10th Annual NJ State Ice Cream Festival on July 21st between 11:30 am and 05:00 pm.  You can eat some mouth watering ice cream, along with some fun filled games, rides and food for the entire family!

Kids Kingdom Traveling Jubliee

The 15th annual Kids Kingdom Traveling Jubilee is a series of four events held at Clark, Elizabeth, Plainfield, and Rahway, NJ hosted by This Is It Production. 

The festival provides entertainment for kids of all ages with safe, educational and fun filled hands on activities which include clay station, bubblemania and bingo, pony rides, petting zoo, hay rides, face painting, sand art and amusement rides. 

More than 25,000 attendees expected at these festivals.  Event at Rahway and Elizabeth are scheduled for July 14th, and August 11th respectively. (Plainfield was June 2nd, Clark event TBD).

Butterfly Farm

Camden Children's Garden

Visit the Philadelphia Eagles Four Seasons Butterfly House and Education Centre to observe several species of butterflies in their 1,200 square foot home. You can experience butterflies flying, basking and nectaring in a lush tropical environment, amidst a peaceful pond and bubbling fountain.

Learn to create a butterfly garden in your own background with the information you can collect at the Butterfly House Visitor Center. 

LEGO Mini Model Build Workshop

LEGO

Visit a LEGO store near you to learn how to build a mini LEGO model and take it home for free!Quantities are limited to approximately 250 per store and offer is good while supplies last.

June 5 Event: LEGO Lawn Mower

July 3 Event: LEGO Torch

Event is open to children aged 6 to 14 only. Check with your local LEGO Store for exact dates and times.

Day Out With Thomas

Help our favorite No. 1 engine find the clues and solve the mystery! Thomas the Tank Engine™ is pulling out of the station for Day Out With Thomas™: Mystery On The Rails Tour 2012.

Day Out With Thomas provides an opportunity for kids to take a ride on a 15-ton replica of Thomas and have their pictures taken with Sir Topham Hatt, the controller of Thomas' railway. The tour provides a unique, interactive family experience at every station, offering a variety of entertaining activities that reflect the local flavor of each stop. Different forms of entertainment - from petting zoos, miniature golf, and bounce houses to face-painting and magic shows - make each Day Out With Thomas event special. In addition, every location has a Thomas & Friends Imagination Station where you can Build with Mega Bloks® and participate in other Thomas-themed activities including stamps, temporary tattoos, hands-on arts and crafts, and a Thomas storytelling and video viewing area.

To find a location near you and purchase your tickets, click here.

National Train Day Giveaway by B. Toys!

On Saturday, May 12^th, America has one mission – celebrate the joy of trains!  With over 75 celebratory events through out the country, the National Train Day marks 143rd anniversary of creation of the nation's first transcontinental railroad.  The most iconic train stations of New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Los Angeles will be hosting free, fun activities and interactive exhibits that will bring the ‘rail way’ to life for attendees both young and old.

Some of the activities that will be included are as follows:

• Arts & Crafts
• Wii Games
• Train Equipment Displays:
• Model Train Displays
• K-9 Security Unit Demonstrations
• Amtrak High Speed Rail Display
• Amtrak Culinary ExperienceRadio Disney will be emcee'ing the event and offering kid friendly program all day
• NEW YORK – Vy Higginsen’s Teen Choir & Bari Koral Family Rock Band
• LOS ANGELES – The All American Boys Chorus & Aaron Nigel Smith & Dora the Explorer
• CHICAGO – Miss Lori & local choir TBD
• PHILADELPHIA – Philadelphia Boys Choir & Ernie & Neal

B. toys has been announced as the official toy partner for the Train Day celebration.   B. toys will be on-site showcasing their building block toys – the Elemenosqueeze and Stackadoos – at the kids’ activity stations at the festivals on May 12th! 

B. Toys is offering Stackadoos as exclusive giveaway items prior to the event.  One lucky reader  (living in the US) has a chance to win this toy!

Enter using Rafflecopter below by May 9th.  Winners will be selected on May 11th. If the prize is not claimed within the one week, a new winner will be announced.  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Strawberry Picking

Delicious strawberries are one of the first things to arrive in spring/summer. Check out a farm near you for a pick-your-own experience between May to mid-June.

To look up farms near you, see Pick-Your-Own.Org.

Rutgers Day 2012

Come as a family. Come with a group. Come by yourself. Just come to Rutgers Day!

Rutgers Day 2011 Pictures

Lively activities, interactive demonstrations, vibrant stage performances, and an array of food choices await visitors on every Rutgers campus. Events include, but are not limited to storybook readings, puppet shows, scavenger hunts, arts and crafts projects, music, football games, plant sales, animal show, barn tours, science projects.

Rain or shine, Rutgers Day will be open to public from 10 am to 4 pm.  Parking and shuttle buses between campuses are free.

Visit Rutgers Day Facebook for regular programming updates!

Celebrate Earth Day!

Earth Day 2012 at Liberty State Park

The Hudson County Improvement Authority’s (HCIA) kicks off its Annual Earth Day celebration on April 21st at 10 am, inside the Historic CRRNJ Terminal at Liberty State Park, with a 5K Run and Walk. The day-long event provides an excellent opportunity to learn more about the environment and create a memorable experience for your family, while enjoying the beautiful sky line of New York City. Following the 5K Run/Walk, there will be plenty of family-friendly activities at the "Kids' Kingdom" area, which will include inflatable rides, arts and crafts activities, kite-flying and contests, environment-themed displays, tree seedlings (compliments of the NJDEP's Division of Parks and Forestry), and many other giveaways, along with live stage shows.

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Party for the Planet at Turtle Back Zoo

Join all the wild friends at Turtle Back Zoo in the biggest wild party celebrating Earth Day on April 22nd! There will be activities scheduled throughout the day.

What To Expect When You Are Expecting

What to Expect When You're Expecting... did you read the book when you were expecting? 

Inspired by the New York Times bestseller What to Expect When You're Expecting is a hilarious comedy movie about five couples who suffer the many joys of the childbirth and parenting.  Watch it on May 18th in a theatre near you!

Dunellen Cinema Cafe Review

Dunellen Cinema Cafe

In December 2011, I had posted about a Child Friendly Cinema Cafe!  We had an opportunity to visit this theatre, Dunellen Cinema Cafe, to watch "The Lorax"!

It is a quaint little theatre.  Not a super fancy 3D place, but it has a very nice old school rustic setup.  Tickets are sold 30 minutes before the show (not available in advance or online), but mind you there is a huge line!  Food is served at your table, and your family can enjoy their food while you watch the movie.  The volume is also not super high, so its great for younger kids.  The seating is pretty spaced out as well, so even if your kid is not being very quite (kids being kids), it does not really bother other guests at the theatre.  There is also enough space for them to move a leg and not hit the seat in front either!

We had kids ranging from age 2 to 6, and all of them enjoyed the theatre experience. Definitely worth a visit and also worth a repeat!

As far as "The Lorax"... the movie was cute and vibrant and definitely worth a watch!